Prediction: We will lose in 4-5 games in 2nd round

[footey]

The OP COULD be correct, but as indeed pointed out it's all hogwash until we get there.

  I could boldly predict that the Lakers, the Cavs, the Hawks, the Magic, the Celtics, the Nuggets, the Spurs, the Jazz and the Mavs all have no shot at winning the title. Worst case, almost 90% of my predictions are correct.

Not sure what point you are making.

[wdleehi]

Teams never beat teams that sweep them in the regular season.


Just a few seasons ago, the Cavs swept the Spurs.  Then the two teams met in the playoffs.  Lebron grabed the title, lifted it over his head and proclaimed....



Oh wait, that's right.  The Spurs won the title.



I guess being swept in the regular season doesn't mean you automatically lose to that team if you face again in the playoffs.  

[footey]

To quote Roy's sig :

All the negativity in this town sucks. It sucks, and it stinks, and it sucks. - Rick Pitino

This is seriously getting ridiculous, it has always been a pleasure to come on CB and now I find myself disgusted by all the negative posts and "doom and gloom" threads, where you get almost attacked if you show some positivity or enthusiasm about the Celtics. Calm down, people!

Sounds like Drucci had a little too much green koolaid lately. Fans don't have to kiss their team's butt all the time.  I am very disappointed with how this team is turning out. I bought into the idea at the beginning of the season that this team would be a dominant team on the defensive end. About ten games into the season, we looked like world beaters.  Sheed and Eddie hitting tons of 3's, our second unit looked amazing. Now Eddie is gone, and Sheed might as well be.  The big three are now the fading fast 3.  Perk has regressed.  We are a poor foul shooting team, a poor rebounding team, a turnover machine. We can't finish games.

Other than that, how was the play, Drucci??

[footey]

Honestly, I didn't even read the OP's post.  Why?  Because anyone, including me, who thinks they have any clue about how this team is going to play in two months is just crazy. 

KG still isn't 100% and Paul Pierce is out.  If that changes by May, we could go a lot further.  If that doesn't, we could lose in the second round.  Heck, Ray and Rondo could go out of the season tomorrow and we could lose in the first round.  But none of us know how any of that will turn out. 

All that really matters is that we're 100% for the playoffs.  Looking at a portion of the season and assuming that it's going to continue indefinitely is like looking out the window at midnight and assuming day will never come again. 

Call me crazy (I think you did!!) but it is based on 56 games. How much of a sample do you need?  How many NBA teams who have such poor records against the top teams in their conference went far in the play-offs?  How many Celtic teams?  Zero, probably.

[footey]

Honestly, I didn't even read the OP's post.  Why?  Because anyone, including me, who thinks they have any clue about how this team is going to play in two months is just crazy. 

KG still isn't 100% and Paul Pierce is out.  If that changes by May, we could go a lot further.  If that doesn't, we could lose in the second round.  Heck, Ray and Rondo could go out of the season tomorrow and we could lose in the first round.  But none of us know how any of that will turn out. 

All that really matters is that we're 100% for the playoffs.  Looking at a portion of the season and assuming that it's going to continue indefinitely is like looking out the window at midnight and assuming day will never come again. 

Call me crazy (I think you did!!) but it is based on 56 games. How much of a sample do you need?  How many NBA teams who have such poor records against the top teams in their conference went far in the play-offs?  How many Celtic teams?  Zero, probably.

Only team I can think of is the 68/69 Celtics, who finished 4th in regular season.  They had Bill Russell, Sam Jones, Hondo, Nellie, Sigfried, Satch, et. al. 

[footey]

Teams never beat teams that sweep them in the regular season.


Just a few seasons ago, the Cavs swept the Spurs.  Then the two teams met in the playoffs.  Lebron grabed the title, lifted it over his head and proclaimed....



Oh wait, that's right.  The Spurs won the title.



I guess being swept in the regular season doesn't mean you automatically lose to that team if you face again in the playoffs.  

Of course there is an exception to every rule. It is not just that we are manhandled by ATL and ORL, and probably will be by CLE, it's that we struggle to beat teams like the Nets.  We have become an average team (statistically below average in 2010), and average teams don't go far in the play-offs.

[wdleehi]

Teams never beat teams that sweep them in the regular season.


Just a few seasons ago, the Cavs swept the Spurs.  Then the two teams met in the playoffs.  Lebron grabed the title, lifted it over his head and proclaimed....



Oh wait, that's right.  The Spurs won the title.



I guess being swept in the regular season doesn't mean you automatically lose to that team if you face again in the playoffs.  

Of course there is an exception to every rule. It is not just that we are manhandled by ATL and ORL, and probably will be by CLE, it's that we struggle to beat teams like the Nets.  We have become an average team (statistically below average in 2010), and average teams don't go far in the play-offs.

The Rockets were an average team the 2nd time they won a title. 

[footey]

Teams never beat teams that sweep them in the regular season.


Just a few seasons ago, the Cavs swept the Spurs.  Then the two teams met in the playoffs.  Lebron grabed the title, lifted it over his head and proclaimed....



Oh wait, that's right.  The Spurs won the title.



I guess being swept in the regular season doesn't mean you automatically lose to that team if you face again in the playoffs.  

Of course there is an exception to every rule. It is not just that we are manhandled by ATL and ORL, and probably will be by CLE, it's that we struggle to beat teams like the Nets.  We have become an average team (statistically below average in 2010), and average teams don't go far in the play-offs.

The Rockets were an average team the 2nd time they won a title. 

With Jordan-less Bulls, there was no other decent team in the NBA that year. Surely you are not comparing the depth of strong play-off teams in the NBA that year to this year??

[Drucci]

To quote Roy's sig :

All the negativity in this town sucks. It sucks, and it stinks, and it sucks. - Rick Pitino

This is seriously getting ridiculous, it has always been a pleasure to come on CB and now I find myself disgusted by all the negative posts and "doom and gloom" threads, where you get almost attacked if you show some positivity or enthusiasm about the Celtics. Calm down, people!

Sounds like Drucci had a little too much green koolaid lately. Fans don't have to kiss their team's butt all the time.  I am very disappointed with how this team is turning out. I bought into the idea at the beginning of the season that this team would be a dominant team on the defensive end. About ten games into the season, we looked like world beaters.  Sheed and Eddie hitting tons of 3's, our second unit looked amazing. Now Eddie is gone, and Sheed might as well be.  The big three are now the fading fast 3.  Perk has regressed.  We are a poor foul shooting team, a poor rebounding team, a turnover machine. We can't finish games.

Other than that, how was the play, Drucci??

There is a line between screaming this is doomsday for this team and kissing its "butt". I'm not doing any of these things.

I just watch all the games and I'm as disappointed and frustrated as you are when they lose games after getting leads. I'm not giving them excuses anymore although Pierce was missing, Quis was sick, that's fact, and people tend to forget that because we got a 13 point lead but we still missed Paul against the best team in the East record wise.

The same way I'm not predicting a championship for the team because it beat a contender or a lot of them, I'm not predicting an early exit in the playoffs because it lost to a contender or a lot of them. That simply doesn't make sense.

The playoffs are really different from the regular season, you know that. I'm getting tired myself of waiting for the playoffs to see this team turn it around, and if they don't, I will be the first to blame them, you can be sure of that, but until then, I still hope and expect them to improve game after game, and that's what being a fan is about, if I'm not mistaken.

I'm not the biggest optimistic nor am I the biggest pessisimistic in the world, but I think I can be quite unbiased and judge if the team has the talent and the defense to go all the way. I think so.

Obviously, we will see in the playoffs who was right, the "blind optimistics" or "the predictors of doomsday". But it's disturbing to be attacked on this blog when you are showing some optimism or hope for this team, it seems to me than most of the posters now cheer for the C's to lose so they can claim they were right and had predicted the team's decline.

[wdleehi]

Teams never beat teams that sweep them in the regular season.


Just a few seasons ago, the Cavs swept the Spurs.  Then the two teams met in the playoffs.  Lebron grabed the title, lifted it over his head and proclaimed....



Oh wait, that's right.  The Spurs won the title.



I guess being swept in the regular season doesn't mean you automatically lose to that team if you face again in the playoffs.  

Of course there is an exception to every rule. It is not just that we are manhandled by ATL and ORL, and probably will be by CLE, it's that we struggle to beat teams like the Nets.  We have become an average team (statistically below average in 2010), and average teams don't go far in the play-offs.

The Rockets were an average team the 2nd time they won a title. 

With Jordan-less Bulls, there was no other decent team in the NBA that year. Surely you are not comparing the depth of strong play-off teams in the NBA that year to this year??

They beat Shaq and Penny.  Utah and Phoenix were both strong.


Just because no one could beat the Bulls during their prime doesn't mean the rest of the NBA was just bad.

[Jon]

Honestly, I didn't even read the OP's post.  Why?  Because anyone, including me, who thinks they have any clue about how this team is going to play in two months is just crazy. 

KG still isn't 100% and Paul Pierce is out.  If that changes by May, we could go a lot further.  If that doesn't, we could lose in the second round.  Heck, Ray and Rondo could go out of the season tomorrow and we could lose in the first round.  But none of us know how any of that will turn out. 

All that really matters is that we're 100% for the playoffs.  Looking at a portion of the season and assuming that it's going to continue indefinitely is like looking out the window at midnight and assuming day will never come again. 

Call me crazy (I think you did!!) but it is based on 56 games. How much of a sample do you need?  How many NBA teams who have such poor records against the top teams in their conference went far in the play-offs?  How many Celtic teams?  Zero, probably.

Maybe that they haven't played badly for 56 games?  That they actually beat Cleveland opening night (when healthy).

They haven't looked as good as '07-08, but then again, they never faced injuries like they did this year back then.

I'll agree that if they keep playing like they are now (including KG where he is and PP being ineffective/out) they'll lose in the first round.  But how you can project that it'll be that way in two months is beyond me. 

[Fafnir]

Just because no one could beat the Bulls during their prime doesn't mean the rest of the NBA was just bad.

Exactly, was the NBA bad when the Lakers/Celtics dominated?

Dominance doesn't necessarily mean the product is watered down.

[Fafnir]

It could definitely happen.

I don't think it would, but it could.

[footey]

Teams never beat teams that sweep them in the regular season.


Just a few seasons ago, the Cavs swept the Spurs.  Then the two teams met in the playoffs.  Lebron grabed the title, lifted it over his head and proclaimed....



Oh wait, that's right.  The Spurs won the title.



I guess being swept in the regular season doesn't mean you automatically lose to that team if you face again in the playoffs.  

Of course there is an exception to every rule. It is not just that we are manhandled by ATL and ORL, and probably will be by CLE, it's that we struggle to beat teams like the Nets.  We have become an average team (statistically below average in 2010), and average teams don't go far in the play-offs.

The Rockets were an average team the 2nd time they won a title. 

With Jordan-less Bulls, there was no other decent team in the NBA that year. Surely you are not comparing the depth of strong play-off teams in the NBA that year to this year??

They beat Shaq and Penny.  Utah and Phoenix were both strong.


Just because no one could beat the Bulls during their prime doesn't mean the rest of the NBA was just bad.

They swept Orlando.  None of those 3 teams you mentioned ever won an NBA championship. Most NBA historians would take issue with your claim the league was strong then.

[footey]

To quote Roy's sig :

All the negativity in this town sucks. It sucks, and it stinks, and it sucks. - Rick Pitino

This is seriously getting ridiculous, it has always been a pleasure to come on CB and now I find myself disgusted by all the negative posts and "doom and gloom" threads, where you get almost attacked if you show some positivity or enthusiasm about the Celtics. Calm down, people!

Sounds like Drucci had a little too much green koolaid lately. Fans don't have to kiss their team's butt all the time.  I am very disappointed with how this team is turning out. I bought into the idea at the beginning of the season that this team would be a dominant team on the defensive end. About ten games into the season, we looked like world beaters.  Sheed and Eddie hitting tons of 3's, our second unit looked amazing. Now Eddie is gone, and Sheed might as well be.  The big three are now the fading fast 3.  Perk has regressed.  We are a poor foul shooting team, a poor rebounding team, a turnover machine. We can't finish games.

Other than that, how was the play, Drucci??

There is a line between screaming this is doomsday for this team and kissing its "butt". I'm not doing any of these things.

I just watch all the games and I'm as disappointed and frustrated as you are when they lose games after getting leads. I'm not giving them excuses anymore although Pierce was missing, Quis was sick, that's fact, and people tend to forget that because we got a 13 point lead but we still missed Paul against the best team in the East record wise.

The same way I'm not predicting a championship for the team because it beat a contender or a lot of them, I'm not predicting an early exit in the playoffs because it lost to a contender or a lot of them. That simply doesn't make sense.

The playoffs are really different from the regular season, you know that. I'm getting tired myself of waiting for the playoffs to see this team turn it around, and if they don't, I will be the first to blame them, you can be sure of that, but until then, I still hope and expect them to improve game after game, and that's what being a fan is about, if I'm not mistaken.

I'm not the biggest optimistic nor am I the biggest pessisimistic in the world, but I think I can be quite unbiased and judge if the team has the talent and the defense to go all the way. I think so.

Obviously, we will see in the playoffs who was right, the "blind optimistics" or "the predictors of doomsday". But it's disturbing to be attacked on this blog when you are showing some optimism or hope for this team, it seems to me than most of the posters now cheer for the C's to lose so they can claim they were right and had predicted the team's decline.

Drucci, I have been following the NBA for 45 years, all centered on my passion for the Celtics.  Sure, there are exceptions to what I am about to say, but basically, the reality is this: A team that is so so in the regular season is not going to win a championship. I don't think you take issue with that. I am taking it one step further by looking at the Eastern Conference, and concluding that this team has little chance of getting past the second round. Is it possible? Of course. But based on how we have played since the first month or so, we have been a below .500 team.  We just are not that good. Can we turn it around? Up to a week ago, I thought so. But now, I just don't see it.  Too many "what ifs".